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Trump coins, dinner
continue the grift
I’ve been reading about Donald Trump’s crypto riches after checking out his official $TRUMP coin website. His “unforgettable Gala DINNER with the President” on May 22 at his members-only club outside Washington is only open to the top 220 $TRUMP coin holders. The top 25 holders (current leader $50M) get an “exclusive reception” and a “Special VIP Tour.”
Curious, I then used the free ChatGPT.com to get an idea of how much this single Trump family business has accumulated from his new “business” since his inauguration. The ChatGPT prompt is: Provide the estimated financial gains in USD by the Trump family from January 1, 2025, to the present, specifically from their cryptocurrency holdings and earnings through World Liberty Financials. Include token valuations and performance for $TRUMP, $MELANIA, and any known stable coin-related revenue streams.
The answer is around $750 million in less than 100 days. Look up “conflict of interest.”
Gary Chambers
Brentwood
SJSU athlete sets
fine example for girls
Re: “Transgender athlete reveals pain” (Page A1, April 23).
As a retired San Jose State University faculty member (1988-2018) and a long-time unapologetic LGBTQ+ ally I read with anger, sadness and great admiration of Spartan transgendered volleyball player Blaire Fleming’s treacherous journey.
Rising above the unrelenting intolerance, hate, transphobia and lies promulgated by the right-wing media, countless politicians, including, shamefully, our current sitting president, and most damning her own teammates, opponents and one SJSU coach, Blair carried herself with courage, dignity and grace.
As the grandfather of an impressive and aspiring 12-year-old female athlete I owe an unrepayable debt of gratitude to Blair for being such an awesome role model to countless young female athletes, both transgendered and cisgendered. Blair Fleming, I am one of the millions in your fan club. You are, indeed, an impressive young woman. Thank you.
Barry Goldman-Hall
San Jose
Act now to halt U.S.
slide into fascism
In 1930, the population of Germany experienced a slow takeover of the country’s government through authoritarian rule. democracy slowly eroded, but no one stood up to the ruler who was on the path to dictatorship. Chip by chip, the democratic institutions and laws were eroded, erased, and then replaced. It is hard to believe, but no one noticed. And then one day, democracy was gone, the dear leader singularly in charge. What happened? How did this happen? Could it happen in America?
You bet. Right now, unless all Americans open their eyes to the chips being taken from our freedom. Act now.
Robert Celeste
Fremont
Trump’s rule requires
us to make noise
America has always been a promise, not a guarantee. The words in our Declaration of Independence promise “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The words in the oaths of office for president, Supreme Court justices and legislators are promises only. For over 200 years, Americans have understood and kept the promise, not needing the threat of legal consequences, and we have kept our democracy.
Either this current administration and those who support it are ignorant of the responsibility and maturity required to be an American, or they are scam artists who have looked for all the loopholes and now gleefully use them to destroy us. They may be correct that they are not breaking the law. Worse, they’re literally breaking the promise.
Now is the time to fight for America and the promise. Don’t back down. Find a demonstration. Make signs. Make enough noise that you are heard.
Nancy Thornton
Concord
Trump turns to tariffs
instead of competing
As Donald Trump continues his second stint as president, he has now apparently decided the word “tariff” just might not be “the most beautiful word” after all. His actions were destined to bring the national economy to its knees and needlessly infuriate the entire world against America.
To be truly great, you need not hobble the competition, just outrun and outthink it, much like China is currently doing. Project 2025 doesn’t address China’s dominance in AI and other technologies, so Trump has no game plan. Thus, he thrashes about wildly as is typical of his brand of leadership by whipsaw chaos.
We can only hope that our weak judiciary can slow his roll until midterms. The next task is to tell this draft dodger that he will have no military parade.
Jon James
Pleasanton
Administration’s policies
are isolating America
Re: “What Trump just cost America in trust, allies” (Page A7, April 11).
Regarding Thomas Friedman’s column, I couldn’t agree more.
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With his policy of treating all countries alike regarding tariffs, Donald Trump has isolated America, turning our friends into foes and making America weaker, not stronger. And with his caving on the policy, he’s undermined his negotiating power, making it clear to China and everyone else that the way to defeat the tariffs is to hold out until the stock market suffers great enough losses.
As a parent, you know never to threaten a punishment you’ll never impose, or you lose all credibility. The same is true with countries. When your threats to another country are no longer credible, that’s dangerous. And it’s all the more dangerous if, in the event of a military conflict, you’ll have no allies.
Jay Chafetz
Walnut Creek
